12,000 fewer meals served due to sequestration

Meals on Wheels of Wake County will be serving 12,000 less meals this year due to huge federal budget cuts also known as sequestration.

In February, the automatic federal budget cuts kicked in and the impact has been felt across the country.

However, Meals on Wheels of Wake County said it recently received word from the Area Agency on Aging for the Triangle J Council of Governments about their loss in funding.

"Cuts in federal funding means that we must leave qualified participants on a waiting list and potentially cut current clients," Meals on Wheels Executive Director Alan Winstead said in a press release Monday. "At a time when more people are turning 60, more seniors are living longer, and more seniors are at risk for going hungry, we need more, not fewer, resources to meet the needs of our community."

Winstead said Meals on Wheels is working hard to draw attention to the serious issue of senior hunger in Wake County and how the problem can be eased with increased public and private funding.

Meals on Wheels of Wake County services are open to any senior citizen over age 60 that lives in the county.

The organization has served Wake County for 39 years. Each weekday over 1,300 senior neighbors receive a meal delivered by over 2,200 volunteers.